BHS59.net
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Hello friends and classmates!
I’ve been asked by our wonderful, hard-working (I’m bragging!) Reunion Committee to give you all a synopsis of our fantastic May Mini-Reunion weekend both for those of you who attended and especially for those of you who couldn’t join us this year.
We began with a gathering, an informal drop-in, at the Fitzwilliam Pub, in the lovely Burlington Marriott, which we chose as our base of operations this year. The lounge is spacious, moody and conducive to mingling and interacting with others, so we enjoyed a friendly and casual time - and the food was absolutely delicious. We didn’t have as large an attendance as we had on Saturday night, but we had quite an animated crowd, so it felt like many more. The drop-in started at about 5 and went well into the evening hours. It was an excellent chance to catch up with friends and involve ourselves with intimate and uninterrupted conversations.
On Saturday morning, we decided upon having a new activity to fill in the empty hours before the party, so we asked our own Bob “Stretch” Foley, a retired Army Lieutenant General and Congressional Medal of Honor winner, to speak to us. The talk and reception were held at the “new” Chenery School, which is our old Junior High School building. We had a friendly coffee and doughnut hour before Stretch spoke and were all enthralled by the recollections of his exciting years since high school and his military career. He stated that his favorite duty of all was serving as the Commandant of Cadets at West Point, where he had 4000 students to inspire. I’m sure he did it well. Stretch showed the usual humility and warmth he always exudes when he’s with us. This is the Stretch we knew and loved many years ago and he has never changed. This event was very well-attended and many came just to hear him speak that morning, even a few non-classmates. Thank you so much, Stretch!, on behalf of all of us!
At 4 PM on Saturday, the fun began. We gathered at Dotty Stoneman’s beautiful home on the hill for the main event, a potluck supper with some really delicious dishes. People brought their beverage of choice, so we had plenty of wine and beer flowing freely. ( We provided the soft drinks, coffee and tea. About 73 guests signed up and most attended; and a few surprises came, including my own brother, Richard, who was “kidnapped” by Bill Laverty and Lew Palosky. Thank you guys, as I could never get him to come to anything! This was a “first” and everyone enjoyed seeing him and I know he thoroughly enjoyed his first reunion with his classmates in years. The party started to wane at about 11 and ended with a group of about a dozen of us sitting around the dining room table having an interesting discussion about “whatever” – led by Dotty, of course. There was also a Ping-Pong tournament in the game room, but Dotty beat everyone. We told her we all let her win because it was her house! (
The following morning many of us met at the hotel for a scrumptious and filling brunch. It was a very pleasant way to end the weekend activities. We enjoyed a private room off of the main dining area, which made it even more special. It gave us the opportunity to say our sad good-byes, reminisce, and review the weekend activities. I know that many people who came from a distance stayed on and continued their visits to Boston; some hadn’t been here for years.
All in all, we had an extremely successful weekend and hope to do it again next year. I encourage all of you, especially those who have never joined us before, to save the dates, May 18th through the 20th of 2012. Please don’t plan cruises or trips to Europe or any other activities that will conflict! You’ll enjoy the warmth and camaraderie that these reunions give to us. We share our lives with our old friends and get reacquainted with so many new ones as we make friends of those we hardly knew in high school. Furthermore, we shed all of our facades and feel like we’re in high school again (and unfortunately act that way () but without the cliques, the jocks and the brains! So please join us, in spite of or because of, your high school experiences. It’s extremely cathartic and a healthy closure to an era of times gone by.
I hope to see many of you again next year, if God permits!
Love and Peace to you - my friends, both old and new…
Regina
